


flower language

by tsunderestorm



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-04
Updated: 2016-05-04
Packaged: 2018-06-06 07:32:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6745138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsunderestorm/pseuds/tsunderestorm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lavi has been reading up on plants.</p>
            </blockquote>





	flower language

**Author's Note:**

> this is inspired mostly by the last point in [this post](http://bitterkanda.tumblr.com/post/139693429019/laviyuu-001) and is a gift for [Sena](http://bitterkanda.tumblr.com) :)

It was a nice daydream. Birds were singing, the sun was shining, Yuu went whole day without telling him he wanted him dead...yeah, a nice daydream. At least until he was awoken from it by the dull poke of a gardening trowel in his side. “Ouch!”

“Get up,” Kanda sighed. “You're in the way.” The sun was glaringly bright in the midday sky for a brief second before the the shape of Kanda's body blocked it out. He looked gorgeous, hair out of its ponytail and stick-straight, cascading over his bare shoulders like some beautiful waterfall. The day was unusually warm for September and Kanda was wearing thin sweats and a sleeveless turtleneck, an apron slung low around his hips to hold seeds and his small tools. Even when he's scowling, he was _beautiful_.

“Okay, okay...what about over here?” Lavi offered, a peace treaty. He was still far too close to Kanda for his liking (and he knew it) but he was away from the freshly tilled earth. Kanda made a noncommittal grunt and Lavi considered it permission enough. He nestled down into a nook between a flowering shrub and a line of rich, dark potting soil ready for bulbs and returned to his book.

For Kanda, the blissful silence lasted about...two minutes. Then, Lavi closed his book, sliding a thumb carefully next to the spine to save his place, an impromptu bookmark. “So, Yuu, what are you planting anyway?”

Kanda's shoulders tensed. He was trying to _focus_ , not play a game of 20 questions about his garden. He glanced at Lavi out of the corner of his eye and immediately regretted it – Lavi might be annoying, but his curiosity was endearing enough and the way he was leaning forward was kind of cute. (Not that he'd ever admit that.) He'd removed the dust jacket from his book to keep it safe and Kanda realized that he had no idea what he was reading – surprising, because Lavi usually talked about it. He didn't know what that means, but it couldn't be anything good.

“These are tulips.” he answered, pointing at a netting bag full of rich brown bulbs, criss-crossed by a network of roots across their irregular surface, then to a thin paper packet of seeds. “Those are orchids.”

Lavi's face split into a wide grin. “Tulips? Orchids? Are you trying to tell me something?”

Kanda paused and stared at him, convinced he'd finally lost it. “...what?”

Lavi turned the book towards Kanda and let him read the chapter title he was in the middle of – _Plant those Thoughts: Flower Language and Symbolism._ Kanda's blood _boiled_ at the horrible pun and he refused to meet Lavi's eye – so _that_ was why he hadn't told him what he was reading.

“I've been reading up on decorative plants. Tulips mean love. True love, specifically,” Lavi said smugly. “And orchids...aw man, Yuu, those symbolize sensual desire.”

He scooted closer and placed his hand over Kanda's on the ground, sliding his fingers between Kanda's in a way Kanda assumed was (supposed to be) seductive. His hand twitched under Lavi's larger one in the cool, dark dirt and he could suddenly smell Lavi's closeness, old parchment and sun-warmed skin. He was leaning in towards him; he could feel the shifting of his body, and he let the idiot's lips get _almost_ to his neck before he shoved him away. “ _Please_.”

Lavi retreats to his spot looking only slightly wounded. Good. Kanda nestles the bulbs deep in the earth and covers them, turns to face a plot to his left and sprinkles orchid seeds in temporary terracotta pots to replant later. Come spring, he'll have a lovely garden: tulips here, lining the walkway to his modest house. Orchids for the windowsills. Dahlias there, a splatter of crocus for color and daffodils around the mailbox. At the end of the walkway, he plants hyacinths; grape hyacinths, hollyhocks, pink pearl. They'll look nice and smell even better. When he was finished, he sat back on his heels and admired his work – not bad, especially given his company for the day. It was impossible to get anything done with _him_ around.

“Did you know the Greeks have a story about hyacinths?” Lavi asked as he looked at the label for the bag of hyacinth bulbs.

“No, but I'm sure you're going to tell me,” Kanda sighed, tucking the discarded wrappers into a small bag to throw away once he goes inside before he sat back down, cross-legged and comfortable in the middle of the yard. Lavi saw the opportunity and seized it, moving far faster than he should be allowed to and laying down in front of Kanda with his head nestled in his lap.

“Apollo loved a boy. His name was Hyakinthos,” Lavi started, reaching up and tugging Kanda's hands down until they're crossed gently over his belly, his own hands dancing up Kanda's sides to tickle him playfully. (He got swatted away.) He put on a clipped, gravely quiet voice for the next part, ever dramatic. “But someone else loved Hyakinthos too. You see, Zephyr was captivated by the boy also, and jealous gods are _dangerous_.”

Kanda sighed again and dusted his hands off, cleaning them on Lavi's light sweater and earning a playful pained sigh in response. He won't admit it to him, but he liked when Lavi told stories like this. He had a natural talent for it, and at that moment it was almost soothing after a day of hard work to relax like this.

“Apollo and Hyakinthos spent every day together, playing and living and loving _.”_ Lavi went on to say. “Hell, they probably did a lot of _playing_ in a garden just like this one!”

Kanda scowled. Of course. _There_ it is. He always had to make some sort of joke, some flirtation...ridiculous. “Are you going to finish the story?”

“One day, however, Zephyr, overwhelmed by his jealousy, used his powers as the god of the west wind to blow a discus that Apollo had thrown to his lover. If he couldn't have the beautiful Hyakinthos, the noble Apollo couldn't either.” Lavi shook his head for emphasis, running his fingers absently along Kanda's wrist as he talked.

“He moved the wind, blowing the discus off course and causing it to strike Hyakinthos in the head with it. Down, down he fell, blood pouring from his head and staining his beautiful curls.”

Kanda was confused. “What does this have to do with hyacinths?”

Lavi shot him a look that said _I'm getting there._ “Apollo couldn't bear to let Hades have his lover, you see,” he explained, clutching his hands over Kanda's on his heart. “So he created a flower, and the tears he cried onto it were so heavy they made the petals droop.”

Lavi tugged on the ends of Kanda's hair, pulling him down for a kiss and when they broke apart, he was smiling.

“It's not a very happy story, sure. But it's a romantic one, don't you think?”

“I guess."

“Next year when your garden blooms, we can _play_ like they did, eh?”

Kanda shoves him off his lap and returns to his garden. “Insufferable.”

 


End file.
